The rapid spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) throughout the world has led to intensive efforts develop therapeutic agents to cure or at least ameliorate the disease. Most chemical agents developed to this point have been nucleoside analogs, which may interfere with the replication of the human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) believed to be responsible for AIDS.
The best known of these nucleoside analogs are 3'-azido-2',3'-dideoxythymidine (AZT), the only drug currently approved in the United States for AIDS therapy, and dideoxycytidine, which is undergoing clinical trials. More recently, Vince et al. [Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 156:1046 (1988)] have described a carbocyclic nucleoside analog of guanosine that is a potent and selective inhibitor of HIV replication in vitro. This analog, carbocyclic 2',3'-didehydro-2',3'-dideoxyguanosine, is commonly known as Carbovir.